Breaking Point
by Blazefur
Summary: Everyone has a breaking point. A place where you never want to see yourself cross that first time, because it’s oh so much easier the second time. And the knack to reaching that place becomes sooo much closer every time it happens.
1. Breaking Point

**_Breaking point_**

**__**  
  
Disclaimer: The characters mentioned in this story belong to Eoin Colfer. Despite several attempts to resolve this situation in a court of law, that is not my name. Because I do not wish to interrupt the continuous flow of the story, this will be the disclaimer for the entire story. Obviously, I am not a good a writer as Colfer himself is. I don't care if you review or not, but if you review for the sheer thrill of seeing your name in the story abet as an answer to a review, sorry I don't do that. If you have a question, I will send you an email to answer it. That's all. Oh and I wish to thank Lord Draffyn for their suggestions. You'll never know just how much you influenced me. No, that's not a compliment.

* * *

"Everyone has a breaking point. A 'but' to their clauses of life. A place where you never want to see yourself cross that first time, because it's oh so much easier the second time. And the knack to reaching that place becomes sooo much closer. Close enough, so that finally there is no breaking point anymore. Because you've already cracked, and you can't get much further out than that." Lord Draffyn  
  
_It's been six months since Artemis and his crew were mind wiped. Mulch's trial in currently underway, a record for the farie trial system. But then, Mulch did hire the best gold could buy. He knew he'd make the money back once he got out. So, what's happened in the communities? Let's find out…_  
  
'FOALY!' The centaur gulped, the beetle's he was crunching getting caught half way down his throat. He turned towards the door which had been thrown open…or would have been had the door's not been electronic and therefore incapable of doing any things but drawing apart gently, and plastered his best grin upon his face. 'Oh, Commander Root. What a pleasant surprise.' A blatant lie, but really, what else could he say? Commander Root stomped into the room, one of his noxious cigars clamped between his teeth. Foaly gulped. Oh this wasn't going to be good. Root hadn't even lit the cigar, something he only forgot to do when he was really mad.  
  
Commander Root's faced looked as though he trying to prove that the nickname of 'Beetroot' was well justified. 'We… lost… Mulch' he growled, each word spat out as if it were vermin in the elf's mouth. Foaly frowned, hooves dancing nervously beneath him. But even in the face of such a temper, sarcasm won out and the centaur asked in mock seriousness 'Lost him? How can you lose a dwarf?' He actually regretted those words, not something which happened every decade, as Root's already furious face took on a deeper hue to it. His voice was low and shook with suppressed anger 'The date on his warrant was the day after his arrest' Foaly winced. A costly error. Someone's head would roll for that one. And in hind sight, Foaly really should have paid more attention to that thought.   
  
'That's a terrible tragedy' Foaly said soothingly, glancing surreptitiously at his watch. His favourite Mud Man soap would be on soon. 'But I really don't see what that has to do with me.'  
  
A nasty glint added itself to Root's facial expressions. 'Because' said Root, empathizing each word carefully and slowly to make certain his point got well and truly home, an impressive feat considering his teeth were grounding together hard enough to cause noise pollution in the city to go up a fraction. 'you' he jabbed an index finger at Foaly's chest 'are the one the Council has decided is responsible for this mess.'

Foaly scrambled upwards, hooves skidding slightly on the smooth tiles as he stood up. 'You can't be serious!' he blustered, hysteria giving his voice a slight edge. 'Oh, but I am.' smirked Root. 'the council has decided, and I agree with them that your more trouble than you're worth now." Foaly was stunned beyond belief. This could not be happening! He was the most valuable member of LEP. It was only because of him that the mud men hadn't caught up to fairy technology yet, although Foaly privately doubted that they would stay ahead for much longer. The fairies had Foaly, but the mud men had Artemis… Foaly broke that train of thought in time to hear the final paragraph of the Commander's ranting.  
  
'Just how long did you really think you could fool us? I signed the warrant for Mulch's arrest myself, I know the date. And the only person smart enough to be able to change it is STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF ME!' Foaly drew himself up to his full height and stared loftily down despite the Commander's roar. Smaller than most of his kind, he was still taller than the majority of other species. Including elves. "I did nothing of the sort!' he glared. Root harrumphed in response and pulled out a document. 'Like I said, Mulch's arrest isn't the only thing your being blamed for. You should really pay attention pony boy.'

For once, Foaly failed to hear the jab as he snatch the paper out of his commander's hands and started skimming through the words searching for the reasons he was being blamed. He idly noticed that the page was pink. Strange colour for a report he though but dismissed it as irrelevant although there was a nagging feeling trying to get his brain's attention. Ah, here we go.   
  
_The Centaur…dismissed from the Lower Element Police…insubordination…failure to alert personal to the continuing existence of the convict Mulch Diggums…disobeying direct orders…helping a mud man with known criminal history…_  
  
The majority of the paper sailed over his head as he continued to stare at the main parts of most relevance. _Insubordination?_ Well, yes, alright, he admitted to that. Not a day went by when he wasn't guilty for that one. He snorted under his breath at the next reason _…failure to alert personal to the continuing existence of the convict Mulch Diggums…_ everyone knew that the Commander didn't listen to hunchs, what was he supposed to do? _Disobeying direct orders?_ He'd only ever disobeyed stupid ones. Never had he done anything that would put someone in and danger or harm_…helping a mud man with known criminal history…_ They'd be referring to Artemis of course. He was about to hand the paper back with a sigh and accept the punishment, probably another budget cut when what was arguably the most important part of the entire document caught his eye. Pink.

The council only ever used pink paper for one thing. Every member of the LEP looked on in fear for the pink slip. More commonly referred to the sacking slip. Foaly looked back at the paragraph again. And this time, read it more carefully. The first sentence leapt out at him now that he as looking for it.   
  
_…dismissed from the Lower Element Police…_ Foaly dropped the papers in shock. This could not be, WAS not happening to him! Foaly glanced around the room, hoping desperately that any seconds, LEP jocks would pour in, and they'd all have a good laugh about the joke they'd played on the well known paranoid centaur. This just had to be a dream! The LEP was his life, they couldn't just take that away from him! …could they?  
  
Root chuckled, the malicious sound filling the tiny op booth. "You've got one hour to leave the premises pony boy. Now get out.' Foaly was too stunned to even comment on the cliché-ness of that statement. The diminutive elf strode forth from the tiny booth and Foaly dimly heard him yelling at some one or other.   
  
But all he could think about was how, after decades of loyal service, the LEP was just tossing him away.   
  
And, as these things tend to do, the more he thought about it, the angrier he got. How dare the LEP assume he was responsible for this and not even attempt to find out who the real culprit was. How dare they, treat him as a, a, a second class citizen! He was more valuable than any one else here! He didn't have to stay and be a lackey his entire life. He didn't have to be treated like this, with no one being able to understand him and his hobbies. How often had he been lonely, sitting by himself in a tiny box? Nobody wanted to be friend's with the know-it-all centaur. But they were willingly to throw insults at him. Nobody even attempted to understand his lectures. They took him for granted. Well, Foaly would show them. Fired eh? Foaly had no doubt that once tempers had cooled there would be a heartfelt, Foaly's lips curled into a sneer at the word, apology and he'd properly get a budget increase.  
  
STUFF THE BLOODY BUDGET INCREASE! He shouted inside his head. If they wanted to treat him like this, well then fine. In his time at the LEP there had been one person who had understood him and his intelligence. One person who would never look down on him for being smarter than the average fairy. One person, who would never take a friend for granted, although he might take the concept of friendship on a good run for it's money. His mind made up, Foaly left the building, taking with him everything he could carry. The shuttle ships weren't too far, and he wanted to get to Tara before dawn broke.

Foaly would have been extremely disappointed to know that he wasn't missed until two days had passed, and that was only because Holly had come back from her latest mission and wanted to know where the centaur was when she failed to notice the often irritating smirk. It took another hour before the muck really hit the fan when the captain learnt what had taken place.


	2. And then there were memories

Foaly stared up at the impressive iron gates of Fowl Mansion and a shiver involuntary passed through his body. Did he really want to join Fowl? Turn his genius towards crime? An image of Root yelling at him for no good reason passed through his head and Foaly steeled his resolve. He'd passed his breaking point when Root has the nerve to yell at him. Summoning up his courage, Foaly began to break into the high security that belonged to the most intelligent 14 year old to ever cross paths with a fairy and come out on top.  
  
Butler glanced at the monitor idly and froze. Centaur. He quickly glanced around to make sure his principal hadn't noticed. No, Artemis was concentrating on his latest masterpiece, this time in the form of a sculpture which he was going to put in the back garden to liven it up a bit. This of course, was not the young teenager's idea, but his mother had seen a way to kill to birds with one stone and was taking full advantage of it. A hobby for her Arty and something to place in the garden. Artemis had only begun to learn how to sculpt three days ago. He was already a master at it. But then, he was a genius...  
  
Butler casually closed the monitor down, effectively hiding it from all prying eyes. In a movement that possibly not even Artemis would have detected as strange, he hit a small red button. He could not of course, see the look of surprise that crossed the fairy's face as the gates slowly creaked open, but he could imagine it pretty well. "Artemis I'm just going to check the perimeter, I shall be back in a little while." Artemis absently waved a hand in dismissal and acknowledgment as he continued to work patiently away at the marble.  
  
Foaly stared in shock as the impressive gates swung open before he could even start to tackle it. That could mean only one thing. He'd been spotted. Foaly squared his shoulders and began to trot determinedly forward. The thought foremost in his mind was They brought this upon themselves. I'll show them.  
  
Butler flicked the light switch and glanced around the large garage in which all the cars that were not used every day were kept. Normally he'd use the Bentley for travel purposes, but he doubted a centaur would fit in the car, spacious though it was. The huge manservant placed his huge bulk behind the wheel of a large transporting truck, used specifically for transporting horse kind. Artemis had seen fit to purchase a large horse racing track and the Fowls' had an extensive stable anyway. Driving the vehicle down the winding driveway, Butler thought back to the day he had received total recall.  
  
_"Ah Butler. Back again so soon? Contacts not what you were after?" Butler paused in the middle of greeting his old friend and the best optical expert in the Western Hemisphere and frowned slightly. "Contacts?" he asked carefully. He had come on orders of Artemis to try and discover who had a) designed the mysterious contacts which had been placed on his, Juliet's and his young principal and b) who had created them.  
  
Damien Vitreus looked at his friend in bewilderment. "yes, the contacts you ordered just a few days ago. Butler frowned. That didn't sound right. Could someone have impersonated him? "Oh' continued Vitreus, not noticing that he'd just turned Butler's world upside down as he reached down below the counter. "you asked me to give this to you the next time I saw you. . Do you still want it or should I hold onto it for a little longer.'  
  
Butler shook his head in silent denial and took the envelope hands shaking slightly as he tore it open. Inside was a letter, a computer disk and a small safety deposit key. He gave the letter a cursory glance and almost dropped it from sheer shock. He'd recognise this handwriting at a hundred paces. Well he should. It WAS his after all. "Yes, this is what I was after" he assured his old friend who was looking slightly upset and beat a hasty retreat. As he left, Damien called after him "By the way old friend, I don't know how you did it, but you're sure looking a whole lot younger today than you did just last time I saw you' There was nothing Butler could reply to that. He wasn't even sure what Vitreus was on about.  
  
In the glare of blinding sunlight, Butler slowly began to read the letter again, scanning every detail and burning it into his mind.  
  
Dear Domovoi,  
No doubt you went straight to Damien after discovering the contacts placed into your eyes. I bet Artemis wasn't too happy about discovering those on his person. I can only hope you choose to come to Limerick although I can think of no reason why you, why I, wouldn't do that. Yes, it's me. Or to be more accurate, it's you. Ah, I can hear you thinking that that's impossible. After all, you haven't seen Damien in well over two years correct? Not since that incident but we shan't go into that. I haven't much time and there is so much you need to know.  
  
Inclosed in this envelope is a disk. It's the duplicate of the disk Artemis gave, will give, to Mulch. It's possible that this will cause total recall. I hope so. If even this is not enough, I wasn't twiddling my thumbs whilst Artemis was in Chicago. Go to the Swiss bank around the corner from Vitreus'. There, ask for vault 234. If that doesn't cause total recall, then I have tried my best and there is nothing more I can do. Perhaps Mulch will have better luck, if Artemis' own plan to cause total recall succeeds.  
  
But I know that although Artemis will defiantly be monitored for fairy references, it's possibly I can slip under the radar. After all, I am not as dangerous as my young principal. Not when it comes to games with the mind. My friend, if you do receive your memory back, what you choose to do with them is your own concern. I can only hope that you, that I, choose to do the right thing.  
  
So long my friend. Try to stay out of trouble. You're not as young as you used to be. This is not a goodbye, I can hardly say farewell to myself after all. But, keep an eye on Artemis. He has the potential to be a decent person. He just doesn't have the desire to reach it.  
  
The letter had ended rather abruptly and by this stage, Butler was extremely confused. He was half tempted to ring up young Artemis and ask him for his opinion. But he stifled that idea quickly. Artemis would not appreciated being called for something that appeared to be so trivial. He glanced down at the small disk. May as well see what all the fuss is about he figured. He pulled out the small portable computer from the Bentley's glove compartment. He frowned. Why would he keep a computer there? He thought he caught the shadow of reasoning behind it but it was elusive and wriggled out easily from his grasp. Frowning he tried to catch the memory as he plonked the disk into the holder and watched the information pore across the screen. As it turned out, he didn't need the safety deposit box after all._


	3. Did you forget to mention

Butler stopped the truck in front of Foaly, effectively blocking the hoofed fairy's attempts to go any further. 'Foaly' he said wearily as he got out and stood in front of the centaur. 'What are you doing here?' Foaly stood his ground and glared at the huge bulk. 'I want to speak with Artemis.' he said stubbornly. Butler sighed and then squirmed slightly as Foaly added suspiciously. 'And weren't you supposed to be mind wiped?'

'I was.' he said defensively. 'But I left myself something which triggered total recall.' Foaly was flabbergasted. 'but we took everything away from the mansion which might cause total recall!' he cried. Butler had the decency to look embarrassed.

'Well…I didn't exactly leave it in the mansion…' Foaly narrowed his eyes and sighed in deafeat. There went his ace.

'I guess Artemis has total recall as well then.' he said dully.

'um, no. Not as such.' Foaly glared at the body guard to one of the most feared criminals in the underworld although when he spoke there was a undertone of surprise.

'What do you mean 'no, not as such'?'

Butler sighed and opened up the rear ramp of the truck. 'I'll tell you on the way up.'

As Butler placed the truck into reverse he started to explain why, almost six months ago he had done what he had done.

…..

It hadn't taken the trained Butler long to read through the computer readout although he knew that others could have done it faster. And, as his younger self had figured, or to be more accurate, as Artemis had figured, the disk was enough to trigger total recall. And it was only then that Butler realised what he had meant in his letter when he had said _if you do receive your memory back, what you choose to do with them is your own concern. I can only hope that you, that I, choose to do the right thing._

How could he give Artemis his memories back, when Artemis would undoubtedly use them to exploit the fairies again and place everyone in danger again? And Butler owed a fairy his life twice over. He couldn't let them be endangered when he could prevent it. And it wasn't as though it was life or death for Artemis. In fact, losing his memories would properly increase Artemis' safety because the fairies would no longer be trying to kill/hunt down/punch his lights outs.

So Butler had made the decision not to tell Artemis. It would only cause pain on both sides, not to mention above and below ground. There was no need to go and cause aggravation between two sides when it could just as easily be prevented.

By the time the truck had rolled into the garage, Butler had completed his story. It _was _a long driveway after all. 'So,' Butler said slyly, glancing over at his comrade. 'what are _you _doing here? Obviously you had no clue that the mind wipe had been deactivated for me at least and even if it had, by your own book there isn't anything you can do about it.' Sometimes, if Artemis repeated a lecture often enough, parts of it actually stuck and made sense. Foaly shifted nervously dancing slightly with his hooves.

'well, no we didn't know that you had triggered total mind recall. I came because' he gave and he visibly sank slightly looking at Butler with tired, defeated eyes. 'I need Artemis' help' he said wearily. 'and I'd prefer to tell you my story all at once. It's not something I want to forget' he said, viciousness coursing through each syllable, 'but it's not something I particularly feel like saying too often.' Butler glanced over at the four legged horse like fairy. 'what makes you think Artemis will help you?' he inquired. 'Being helpful isn't exactly what that young prodigy is well known for.'

Foaly slowly turned to Butler and Butler had to fight back the gasp that threatened to escape him. 'because' he said hoarsely, as only a centaur can. 'because he knows what I'm feeling.' And Foaly would say no more on the subject.

Artemis Fowl the Second stepped back from his sculpture and stared at it critically before beginning to polish out a tiny flaw that almost nobody else would have noticed. And probably nobody else would have cared about. When he had first been informed of what his mother wanted him to do, Artemis had felt like screaming but he was a Fowl and screaming was not part of his character at any rate. But it had almost brought him to his breaking point. Not something he came across easily.

Angeline Fowl had wanted something creative, something mystic, something _mythical._ And so that's what Artemis had set out to create. Right now, he was working on centaur's. He had plenty of sketch's of horses, most done when he was younger and more inclined to do things for the sake of doing them and getting the torso and upper body wasn't that hard. This centaur was rearing, fore legs slightly splayed as the stallion showed his dominance. And somehow, the statue was peculiarly familiar.

Before this, Artemis had done several lying down, running through water, fairies, unicorn's, but somehow, he was certain that it was this one that his mother would like best to show of to all her friends. Artemis sighed and wonder not for the first time that just how he managed to let his mother talk him into things he normally wouldn't dream of doing. Or at least, not without very good reasoning. He didn't bother turning around again as the door swung open. 'back so soon Butler?' he asked dryly, not particularly caring what the answer was to a question posed only out of boredom. 'Why Fowl.' said a voice which seemed to neigh slightly and soundly oddly familiar. 'don't tell me you've forgotten me? Not surprising really. I knew you couldn't live with the knowledge that there was something so much smarter than you out there.' Artemis turned slowly features as calm and collected as always.

'Hmph. It seems that someone has found my sculpting rather amusing. Right we've all had a good laugh' Artemis's face was still set in it's, for all practical purposes, cement foundation which hadn't even cracked a smile 'so you can all come out now' he continued. The…creature, Artemis was loathed to call it a centaur when he was perfectly aware of the fact that magic and thus magical creatures didn't exist, trotted into the room and Artemis' ears swore they heard the hoof's clicking on the floor despite his mind's loud arguments that they couldn't possibly be. It examined the sculpture trotting around it appraising every detail careful.

'Well done Fowl' it or possibly he commented 'An extremely good likeness' Artemis chose not to dignify such a such comment with a response despite the fact the statue did look eerie similar to the centaur.

At that moment Butler actually did enter the room. 'Ah' said Artemis, grateful that this stupid game was going to end, 'Butler, we seem to have an intruder in our midst. Kindly see him off the grounds will you' Despite the phrasing it had not been a request and therefore it came as a slight shock when Butler refused. 'I'm sorry sir, I can't do that.'

'Why not?' snapped Artemis who was trying to ignore flashes of…things… that were going through his head. He'd call them memories, but there could be no way any of it had ever occurred.

'there has been…something I have not told you' Butler said, keeping his eyes straight ahead. Somehow, it was easier to tell Artemis this way rather than look him in the eyes and admit that he'd lied to the young boy. Artemis was now slightly curious and a little apprehensive. What could Butler possibly have kept from him?

'Do you recall that incident with the contacts 6 months ago?' Butler was being very careful with his words, and this was not lost on the young prodigy. His eyebrows drew closer together and a slight edge crept dangerously into his voice. 'yes. I recall. Myself, Juliet and you all discovered contacts on our person. But you went to Limerick, found the culprit and taught him a lesson' The edge became a lot more pronounced as Artemis asked 'didn't you?'

Butler had been in several wars. He'd faced down death more times than he cared to count. He had been captured by enemy forces, had been in more dangerous situations than he cared to remember. And he was currently being intimidated by a boy who hadn't even reached his 15th birthday yet. It was truly scary how Artemis could be sometimes. 'So' continued Artemis, his silky tones only just marring the poison his words contained. "You tell me that you haven't been completely honest with me. And you bring up an event which occurred barely six months ago. Obviously the two are connected. But why' and the slightest hints of puzzlement crept into Artemis' voice as he asked 'but why did you feel the need for a centaur puppet?"

"Puppet!" snorted the centaur in question. "Listen Mud boy the only reason I'm letting you get away with all of this is because I know you don't believe in magic.' A smirk crossed his lips 'Not yet at any rate' he added with some satisfaction. A frown tugged at Artemis' face and he deftly turned his back on the centaur trying his best to ignore the thoughts that were now demanding his attention. Something about breaking into a building in Chicago….

Butler held out a disk. 'better you see for yourself.' he advised gruffly. 'I wasn't too certain if it would bring up total recall for me, but it did. And since you originally designed it for yourself to look at, I'm sure you'll have no problems.' Artemis glared at his manservant and Butler _knew _the young Irish boy hadn't forgiven him for lying to his face, despite not knowing that such an event had even occurred. It was the principle the young billionaire felt. Lying to people was _his _job.

Muttering darkly the raven hair youth easily slid the disk into his laptop's drive. Deft fingers flew over the keyboard as he typed commands to the computer and settled down to read in the chair. Butler watched blue eyes flicker rapidly over the lines, Artemis was a talented speed reader who could digest full paragraph's at a time and several times a thin eyebrow would arch upwards, a rare show of emotion's for the calculating cold youth. He had not been reading for more than five minutes, which Butler figured that even by Artemis' standards, couldn't be that far and turned to the centaur reading over his shoulder. 'So Foaly. We met again.'

Foaly raised his own eyebrow in response. "How cliché of you Fowl.' he neighed with slight laughter, 'A genius like yourself could only come up with that?' Artemis scowled and ice barriers shut themselves down tightly on his already Siberia like features. 'What are you doing here anyway?' he said, diverting the attention away from himself. Foaly sighed and decades seemed to etch themselves onto him as he slumped on his hooves, leaning against the marble for support.

"I've been fired' he said jadedly, sadness and bitterness radiating from him in a smouldering blanket that closed down on everything in it's past. "I was the best, and they fired me for something I didn't even do.' he laughed bitterly. 'Best job under the world they said. Most valuable technician ever they said. And they discard me like that!' he snapped his fingers and stared morosely at Artemis' work again. Artemis had though the rant was other, and high time he disliked those who spent forever brooding instead of using the valuable emotion's for something useful like revenge, when the centaur started again. "you know, I was the only reason we fairies kept ahead of you mud men?' _That_ caught Artemis' attention. 'really?' he asked despite himself.

Foaly nodded and Artemis was silent for a few seconds as he though all that he'd been told over. "so what do you want from me?" he asked at last. Foaly shrugged his shoulders and moved to stand by the window, staring out at the vast acres of the Fowl estate. "what everyone wants I suppose. Friendship, acknowledgement, someone to share my vast knowledge with and who'll actually get it.' he turned towards the human "but all that can wait. Right now, I need a place to stay, and someone to help me plot revenge.' He gave a short bark of laughter. "I stayed at LEP assigned quarters. So not only did I lose my job I lost my home as well.' Artemis winced slightly in calculated sympathy. Foaly gave him a look of pity which told Artemis his ploy had been seen straight through. He shrugged. "the majority of those things I can give you.' he said with some care 'but what would you grant me in return?'

Foaly smiled in a way which chilled Butler to the bone. He had seen that smile so often, only on a different genius' face. 'If you help me fulfil my dreams, then I'll help you fulfil yours.'


	4. New Allies

Artemis considered the deal that had been offered to him, almost on a silver platter. He finally held out a hand to the centaur. 'You have yourself a deal Foaly.' Foaly took the hand and smiled "Together we will be unstoppable and the world will know better than to mess with a pair of genius'." Artemis nodded and smiled vampirish.  
  
"I suppose we had better get the finer details of our agreement finalised then.' the youth said casually. 'I believe a place of stay was required?' Foaly nodded and waved a hand to indicate the view that was present from behind the French windows. "preferably a place where I can watch the sun and have access to the grass.' Artemis glanced curiously towards the one person who could claim to be near his intelligence level.  
  
"I was under the opinion that fairies couldn't go out into the sun's rays.'  
  
'fairies can't' was the mild reply. 'It messes with their magic. But centaurs haven't that much magic and we need the sun. To run under the sun's glare. It's the dream of most cooped up under the world.' Artemis indicated the large acres that had been in the Fowl family for generations.  
  
'If you wish to run, then you may. The estate is large enough for you to be able to run freely and have no one notice you. And from a distance, you look rather like any other horse with a rider on it's back. There is a rather large herd running free at any given moment. The Fowl stable's are amongst the best in the country.'  
  
Foaly rolled his eyes. "of course they are.' Artemis merely glanced at him. Foaly continued on hurriedly. "and then you will help me conduct a plan of revenge?' Artemis nodded. 'of course. I too, have a score to settle with the LEP. They did mind wipe me after all. But right now, I have to regain my memories and see just what is missing. Only when I know exactly what I'm dealing with can a reasonable offensive be conducted.' Artemis turned towards his laptop, hesitated, and turned back. "How soon do you need your revenge to be carried out?' he inquired interested in the answer despite himself. Foaly shrugged feigning indifference although his eyes told a different story.  
  
'The faster we deal with them, the faster I can remove them from my mind and concentrate on starting afresh.' Artemis nodded slightly, he had been expecting an answer along those lines. Although he knew what the answer would be he asked any way. Little details meant the difference between freedom and capture. "Revenge is a dish best served cold you know.' Foaly laughed and danced slightly on his hind hooves. 'Maybe it is' he agreed. 'but I like mine pipping hot.' Artemis nodded again, he was beginning to feel a bit like a puppet on it's string. "agreed then. You can have any room not currently in use. Butler will show you around. I shall be coming up with a brilliant scheme.' Foaly nodded. He expected no less from the boy genius.  
  
Butler waited until they were well and truly out of young Artemis' hearing before he asked the centaur. "don't you want to help conduct the plan? It is after all, your revenge.' Foaly shook his head, hooves making a smooth clip-clop sound as they trotted evenly on the wooden floor boards. 'I am certain that anything I could come up with, Artemis would always be three steps ahead of me. This is after all, not something I have ever considered doing. And the LEP will possibly be expecting me to try and make an attack. They will not suspect whatever Artemis has concocted.'  
  
Foaly must have seen the look of incredulous disbelief on Butler's face because he added 'Did you ever suspect that fairies existed? Would you have worked out such an ingenious plot to separate on from it's gold? Would you have been able to work out a plan to rescue someone from the Russian Mafia? And to be more specific, would you have shot your father or even have given the order to do so? Would you have been able to work out a way into Spiro's fortress and discovered a way to place him in jail without ever being implicated?' Foaly laughed and this single laugh was capable of sending shivers down the body guard's spine. 'no, they will not suspect what Artemis comes up with. And I can not wait to see the chaos and disarray it causes.' Butler gulped slightly and quickened his pace.

* * *

Captain Holly Short walked in to the Lower Element Police head quarters and waited for the usual sarcastic comment to come out from Foaly's booth. She frowned as she received only silence. Could it be that Foaly has finally decided to stop with the comments about Recon jocks who weren't intelligent to get by without his help? Holly dismissed that thought at once. How could she even think something that illogical? Foaly would stop making sarcastic comments the day Commander Root stopped shouted at everyone and lost the nickname of Beetroot. Not gonna happen in this lifetime.  
  
"Foaly?" she called tentatively as she waited for the electronic doors to let her pass through. She blinked as she surveyed the op booth. Devoid of personal effects at the best of times this was...bland. All equipment that wasn't nailed down had been removed and everything was turned off. Holly frowned. Something was not right. Foaly would not leave his office like this. If something happened, that centaur just had to hear/see it first hand.  
  
She stepped back out of the booth and halted a passing constable. "Where'd Foaly go?" Holly wasn't quite sure what answer she was expecting, most likely something along the lines of 'he's on holidays' perhaps but she defiantly wasn't prepared for the gnome to stammer something that Holly could only just make out. 'The, uh commander, um, decided that, ah, perhaps Foaly wasn't, um, working to his, er, full potential sir...' Holly stopped listening at that point because her brain had, recognising an outburst when it saw one, had shut down everything not necessary to dwelling on the subject. The first coherent thought when it finally re-emerged was_ 'I'm going to kill Root."_  
  
Commander Julius Root was not having a good day. Firstly, that Frond-cursed centaur had disappeared and nobody knew where he had gotten to which meant that no one knew how to turn the blasted computers on which were the eyes and ears of the LEP operations. Secondly, Root's doors which were not electronic were thrown open and a very angry elf stood where they had once been. He frowned irritably at the captain. 'Just what do you think you're doing?' he snapped. Holly stalked inside and slammed the doors behind her. "What do I think I'm doing?' she hissed 'what do YOU think your doing firing Foaly like that!' Root glared at the standing elf. 'Captain Short' he began 'I understand that you have a friendship with the centaur but you do not have all the facts!' This was met with an icy glare. 'so tell me' she spat out 'the facts.' Root leaned back in his chair and sighed. This would not be easy. Elves were such temperamental creatures. He should know after all, he was one himself.  
  
'We lost Mulch' he said tiredly. Holly snorted. 'And for that you fired the most important member of the police force?' Root glared at the insubordination as he snapped back 'of course not! We fired Foaly' he emphasised the word 'because the date on the warrant had been changed and he was the only one capable of such a feat.' He gentled his voice slightly seeing that Holly obviously didn't understand. "I mean that Foaly has been playing us all for fools for years. But he didn't cover his tracks as well this time and he got caught.'  
  
Holly was about to say something snippy when suddenly the power went out. Holly glanced upwards in some surprise. Power failures did not generally happen. Flood, quarantine or discovery by the humans were the only things that would cause this to happen. Holly sighed. Her meeting with Root was by no means over but she had to do her job before anything else. 


	5. Now we're in for it

Artemis leaned over Foaly's shoulder, reading the list of commands that Foaly was typing in. Although he knew Artemis was well aware of what was happening, having come up with the plan the day before, Foaly couldn't help giving a commentary anyway.

'The power is now gone from the LEP, except in the Op's Booth, which no one can access now, and the data about the LEPrecon and it's movements should be starting to download into your computer now.' he gave a slight snicker as he added nastily. 'As well, I encrypted the signal with the one you came up for me, and I rerouted the calls to the computer through several countries and cities including some underground ones. By the time they even work out that out, we'll be long gone.'

Artemis' face was expressionless as always, yet Butler, from his out of the way corner, could tell that he was pleased. 'Congratulations Foaly' commented Artemis. 'You've just taken your first step to starting a criminal life.'

'Gee, Artemis, I'm speechless. You know, for a second there I could have believed that you were an ordinary Mud Boy. In theory, that is.' Foaly stretched his arms for a moment, then continued to type in the commands that would get better control of the LEP.

Artemis' mouth seemed to twitch, just for a moment, into a slightly wider shape then was normal for him. 'Why Foaly, if I didn't know better, I'd take that as a compliment.'

Butler smiled to himself as he flicked through his latest copy of _Guns and Ammo_. It seemed that Artemis' newfound friendship with Foaly was certainly having a startling impact on him for the better. At least, he hoped so.

-----------------------------------------------------------------

'Tell me Commander' said Holly in a deceptively calm tone. 'Did Foaly mention anything about getting revenge, because I think that this might be it!' Her voice grew in volume as she said it, until she ended up shouting.

Before he could reply, a panicked gnome threw open the door and ran into the room. 'Sir, we've lost the power! And the computers in the Op's Booth are humming, but someone changed the code on the door, and no one can get in!'

Root said several things that would have to be censored before they could be put down in writing. 'That centaur! He's the only one who could have done it! Quickly, put out a call to all squads of LEP. Tell them that this is an emergency, and not a drill' Root barked at the helpless gnome, who ran to do his bidding.

The emergency lights came on, filling the room with a dim, orange glow.

'Might I suggest something, sir?' Asked Holly.

'No, Captain, you may not. This is no time for theorizing.' Snapped Root, shoving one of his cigars in his mouth and searching desperately for a light.

'Well then Commander, I think this wall might listen too me, and if you overhear me, that's no great loss. Have you checked Foaly's rooms for any clues as to where he's going?' Holly asked the wall with feigned interest. Under her nonchalant face, two strong emotions fought. One was the urge to kill Root for his stupidity in allowing Foaly to be fired. The other was a growing concern for Foaly. If he was behind this power failure, what could he possibly have for motivation to do so? It just made no sense.

Commander Root sank into his chair, which in turn sank under his weight. 'Anything he could take, he took. It's as simple as that.'

Holly opened her mouth to ask him another question when the gnome Root had sent out opened the door a little bit. 'C-C-Commander?' He called out softly, not wanting to risk the notorious wrath of the Commander.

'Get in here now, Corporal, before I have you fired too!' Root yelled at him, his face turning its trademark hue. The unlucky gnome scurried over to the desk and stood to attention.

'Sir, all squads have been recalled to base. The few technicians we have attempted to trace the signal which disabled our main power source, but they're having some slight difficulties. The signal has been encrypted and no one can work out how to break it. As well as that, they've worked out that it's been rerouted through several different places. They say they could work it out eventually but it's unlikely that whoever's behind this will keep sending the signal for the time they need to track this.'

'WHAT???!!!' Root shouted at the same time as Holly. 'That's impossible!' Root stuttered. 'There's no one below or above ground that could do such a thing. The only two creatures living on this earth that even stand a chance of designing something like this a Mud Man, who we successfully mind wiped, and Foaly…' The implications of what he had just said struck him.

'Captain Short, I want you to go around to Foaly's quarters and see if you can find out just where that blasted centaur has gotten to. When you find him, apologise on behalf of the LEP and tell him we'll increase his budget by any amount he wants.' Holly nodded grimly and sped out of the room. If Foaly was behind this she wanted to find him before anyone else and discover just why he'd done this.

-------------------------------------------------------------

The LEP weren't the only people suffering because of Foaly's disappearance. Mulch Diggum's, dwarf burglar extraordinaire was also suffering. Not because it was dark, dwarves are very good at seeing in the dark, they need to be for all the tunnel's they go down. But because of the power shortage, the shuttle's had been shut down. Mulch cursed beneath his breath. Although Artemis had told him in his letter slipped to him when they shook hands not to come find him until after the six months were up, Mulch couldn't resist the large amounts of money that were bound to come his way once he became partner's with the notorious heir to the Fowl empire. Frowning, he idly wondered what one earth was causing the power outrage anyway. Shrugging it off as unimportant, he began to make inquires amongst the illegal world to find a short cut to above ground.

---------------------------------------------------

Captain Holly Short stopped her transportation (a rather nice nuclear powered Model Lightning) outside the apartments that until a few days ago, Foaly had called home. She stepped inside carefully. If Foaly was responsible for the power blackout, she wouldn't put it past him to have booby-trapped the places the LEP would undoubtedly search. She gave the room a cursory glance and frowned. Although she had never been to Foaly's apartment before, and didn't know how it looked in the beginning, she was fairly certain that it couldn't have looked like this. It was bare. Oh, there was a bed, designed for a centaur of course, and a refrigerator/freezer but that was it. Holly began looking around in case she had missed something. Where was the computer? She had just finished examining everything and wondering how Foaly could stand to stay her when something struck her. In all the time she'd been assigned to LEP, had Foaly ever had a day off? He was always one of the first to punch in, definitely before her at any rate, and he left after she had gone home as well.

__

How much time does he really spend here? She silently wondered. She was just about to leave when she heard a slight _ping _noise from the bed. Cautiously, she walked over and using the butt of her Neutrino she poked the slight bump in the stall-like area. Nothing happened except another _ping!_ Curiosity gained the better of her and she leaned over to inspect whatever it was.

Holly stared at the small computer she had uncovered. _Guess my first impression that there were no computers here was wrong._ She thought to herself. The pinging was started to get on her nerves and although it was against protocol, she hit the key to access the email. A gasp escaped from between her teeth.

The email read;

__

Help, somebody please help! I have been taken kidnapped by Opal Koboi! I'm being held at…

There the email ended. But it was enough for Holly. Tucking it under her arm, she headed back to headquarters in a hurry.

---------------------------------------------------------------

'Artemis, we have a slight problem' Artemis glanced upwards, annoyed at having been distracted from what was shaping up to be the most interesting thing he had done all day. 'Yes?' he snapped.

Butler wordlessly pointed to the camera pointed at the gate entrance. Artemis did not curse mainly because he had a great deal of self restraint and cursing was a waste of breath at any rate. However, if he did swear, he would have done so at the moment in time. Foaly looked up, momentarily distracted from the computer screen. Looking from Butler to Artemis he asked 'What's wrong?'

Artemis sighed, rubbing his temples between his first finger and his thumb. 'My parents are back from their second honeymoon earlier than anticipated.' Judging from the way Artemis had said this and the look of utmost distaste which had been present on his face for a few moments, Foaly gathered that this was not something which Artemis had been looking forward to. Being the insensitive and nosy person he was, he said this out loud.

He got an answer in the form of an icy glare and the terse 'Is Part A completed yet?' Foaly unwillingly went along with the change in conversation topic and informed Artemis 'Yes, that's completed. I also sent an email to my little hand held computer stating that I've been kidnapped by Opal Kobai' Artemis nodded in approval as Foaly continued 'and so that should keep them off our tracks until they work out I was lying.' He glanced up at the monitors that were currently showing a black BMW winding it's way up the long driveway, drawing closer every second. He jerked a thumb towards it. 'And what do you intend to do about them? Most people don't tend to approve of centaur's living on their grounds.' Artemis smoothly got up from his seat and headed for the front door.

'I do not mean to inform them that there is a rather annoying and irritating centaur on the grounds. I will, however, tell them that I have purchased a highly strung stallion and placed it in a special booth in the stables. I will also mention that it is highly temperamental and it still needs time to settle down into it's new habitat. Since my parents never go into the stables anyway, this should not prove to be a problem for us, will it?'

Foaly hated it when Artemis was right. Unfortunately, considering just who Artemis was, it happened rather often. Sighing, the centaur booted down the computer and grabbed the laptop from under the bench. Time to put the beginning of Part 2 into action.

At the front door of Fowl Mansion, Artemis began to practise his "I'm-so-glad-you're-back" smile. Unfortunately, he still wasn't very good at it. Artemis did not often have to smile.

"Arty we're home!' Artemis forced his mouth to draw apart another couple of centimetre's as he allowed himself to be drawn into the hug. "Hello mother.' he said, uncomfortable with the situation. 'How was your honeymoon? I was not expecting you back for another three days' Angeline Fowl waved a hand languidly.

'Oh, it was lovely! But I just couldn't stand to be away from my darling Arty for a minute longer!' Artemis winced inside. Fortunately his mother was distracted by calling over her shoulder 'Come on Timmy darling. I want to introduce Arty to the newest members of staff.' Artemis frowned imperceptibly. New staff?

He watched his father climb awkwardly out of the car. _He's still having problems with the prostrate leg_. Artemis silently noted. Although the best money could buy, it seemed that nothing was quite an equal for a real leg. He waved in greeting to his young son, who merely smiled politely back. And then the back doors of the BMW opened, and out stepped two, for lack of a common descriptive word, Butler's.

Perhaps Angeline noticed the slight confusion on Artemis' face because she explained 'Your father and I have decided that since Butler has been getting slightly on in years and Juilet has gone to the United States for that wrestling thing she's involved with, perhaps it would be best if Butler had some more help. Madame Ko very kindly agreed to let me take these two despite having only just graduated from the Academy. I assured her that an easy principle would be helpful to them.'

Artemis almost smirked there and then. Butler's spent their lives training, so that they could be bodyguard's to Fowl's. A Fowl was the hardest assignment you could get because it carried the most prestige with it. However, not wishing to offend his mother so soon after her trip, he merely nodded.

Almost as if by magic, although Artemis privately suspected the manservant had been eavesdropping using the many cameras and microphones in the area, Butler appeared in the doorway. 'Welcome back, Mrs Fowl. I trust you enjoyed your trip?' Angeline Fowl nodded 'Yes, the Gold Coast is so nice this time of year. Butler, I surmise that you know the two young Butler's that we have employed? I gathered from Madam Ko that they are related to you, although of course I'm not entirely certain how close.' Over her shoulder she called back to her husband, "Come along dear, I want to see what Arty's done while we were gone. Let's leave the young to associate amongst themselves.'

Artemis waited until his parents were out of ear shot, using the time to size up the Butler's in front of him. Similar in appearance to the Butler charged with Artemis' well being, Artemis surmised that they were close cousins. He raised an eyebrow at the two of them. 'I am Artemis Fowl the Second' he stated clearly.

The girl, shorter than her companion smiled downwards. She was taller than Artemis by at least a foot. 'I'm Andrea and this is my brother Diego. We're cousins to the Butler that's already here.' No sooner had she said that when she was swept up into a large bear hug by her aforementioned cousin along with her brother. 'So you finally got your Blue Diamond?' inquired Butler, stepping back to allow breathe to return to the two young siblings.

'yeah' said Andrea. 'Missed your record by seven years though.' Butler laughed and roughed up her hair. 'hey don't worry about it. You couldn't beat me then, and you couldn't beat me now.' Both Andrea and Diego pouted and looked around guiltily when Artemis coughed slightly.

"Before we get off topic again, am I to assume that I am to call you by your first names?' Butler rolled his eyes in the privacy of his head. Just like Artemis to get straight down to business.

Diego glanced at his bigger cousin before saying doubtfully "I guess so. You already have a Butler, and it's not as if we're going to be your bodyguards anyway.'

Artemis nodded satisfied with the answer. Turning on his heel he called out behind him, "Butler, I'm going to go check on the stallion. I may be a while. If you need me, call my mobile. I do not wish to be disturbed unless it is important.' The three Butlers watched the pale youth head for the stables.

Finally one of them said with feeling. 'Cold hearted little fink isn't he'


	6. Don't you believe me?

**Authors Note:** Thank you to all the people who have reviewed me so far. As to the question I recieved via a review, Foaly caught the shuttle to Tara, before anyone thought that the centaur going above ground was anything spectacular. Once he was above ground, no fairy bothered to check up on him, because well frankly, Foaly was the only with enough time on his hands, not to mention the abilities and the need for a challenge, to do something he wasn't ordered to do. Besides, do you really expect Foaly to just let those computer's be used against him like that? Without doing anything to even the odds?

And even in Ireland, no human really believes fairies exist. Well, most human's anyway. And they definitely do not believe in centaurs. I suppose it was mostly blind fairy luck, of which every fairy has a considerable amount of, that ensured no human spotted him, although Fowl Manor is in the rural outskirts of Dublin, and surrounded almost completely by trees and forests. And if a human does spot the backend of a centaur, which is the only part they are likely to see because by the time a human sees a centaur, the centaur has already started running, there is nothing remarkable about horses.

For a more simple, and shorter, answer; because I said he could.

* * *

Under the world, things were not exactly going to plan. As soon as the technician's, _any _technicians, heard that it was originally Foaly's office, they refused to be the ones to open the door. Holly heard the muttered 'plasma floor tiles' mentioned more than once. Root was steadily getting redder and redder as he fumed his way back to the door's of the Op booth. "WHY WON'T THIS D'ARVIT DOOR OPEN!' he bellowed, thumping his fist against the door. Holly wasn't certain who was more surprised, Root or everyone else, when the doors slid easily open. She was fairly certain however, that the look on Root's face could win a for "Most Bewildered"

Root stepped into the booth, and began to search for the switch that would turn the main frame power back on. So it was surprising when before he had even began touching the various equipment left in Foaly's, everything came back to life with a slight hum.

There was a slight cheering from outside as the various member's of the LEP dutifully cheered their commander. Root glared at the lot of them, forgetting that what seemed like so much glass to him was opaque to all outside the room.

"Greetings Commander." Root spun around, his speed belying his bulk. 'you!' he growled upon seeing the arrogant, smirking, all too familiar face that had appeared on every monitor.

'Me' agreed Foaly. Root growled something intelligible and untranslatable.

'Just what do you think you're playing at pony boy!' he barked. 'Why did you turn out all the power!' He remembered what Holly had managed to tell him and added in a slightly nicer tone "And where's Kobai?"

Foaly was seemingly unconcerned by this question. 'I really don't think you should be taking that tone with a civilian Julius.' he rebuked.

'I don't care!' was the roar. 'Just turn them back on and tell me where the sprite is!'

Faoly's voice turned dangerously soft. "Or else you'll do what? Cut my budget? That threat doesn't work so well when I don't _have _a budget in the first place!"

__

Root laughed shakily, his mind feeling it's way back onto familiar ground. "Is that what this is all about? Well, why didn't you just say so? You can have your job back if you want it, I'll even give you a budget increase"

Foaly shook his head in pity. "You think I want that stupid job back? No, I got the message loud and clear. I'm happy in Atlanta, I don't want to go back to Haven.'

Root grinned inwardly. Gotcha Foaly. 'So the message on the computer was a hoax then?' _Distract him for as long as possible._

Foaly nodded happily, his smirk coming over the crystal clear monitor's. 'Of course. Now, I have better things than to talk to YOU, but I have a gift for you seeing as you missed me so much.'

'Wha…' started Root but he was cut off by the monitor's suddenly showing a cartoon centaur running all over the screen's. Root watched in morbid fascination. What the d'arvit? His fascination turned into sheer horror as the cartoon began to type commands into it's little cartoon laptop. Sensitive information from security at Howler's Peak to Root's own address began flashing on the screen for a second before it disappeared. The cartoon Foaly waved goodbye to it, winking cheekily at Root as it did so. It then began to do what could be described as a type of dance, although since Foaly had two left feet, whatever he was trying to do, probably wasn't what he _meant _to be doing.

Root growled and moved to turn the computer off, hitting the off switch with considerable force. It did produce a result, but not the one Root had been looking for. Instead of the monitor's going black, the cartoon Foaly simply waggled a thinking at him. "Uh uh uh! Naughty naughty naughty! Uh uh uh! Naughty naughty naughty" came the repeated mantra, all to Foaly waving a digit at the commander of LEP.

Root kicked the power cord and watched in sastifaction as the computer monitor's died and blackened. The satisfaction of seeing the surprised look quickly faded as Root realised that in effect, LEP head quarters had no computers, and no technology because as soon as the power came back on, the virus Foaly had placed in the computers would be activated again. What's more, the entire LEP would have to renovated because who knew where the information had gone?

Root stared at the blank monitors in growing horror as the realisation of just what it was he had done when he had fired the whiny, arrogant centaur finally began to dawn on him.

"I'm, I'm ruined!" he cried, burrowing his hands into his head.

"You can say THAT again."

Commander Root whirled as he heard the familiar tones of the Wing Commander.

"You can say THAT again. Julius Root, you are hereby dishonourably discharged for your part in the Foaly Fiasco. And I'll make damn certain you never work in this town again!"

Commander Root opened his mouth in protest. "Really Foaly, when are you going to stop watching that tape?"

Foaly didn't even flicker his eyes from the monitor to acknowledge his partner in crime for the past seven months "I'll stop watching this tape when you renounce your criminal behaviour."

'A simple "never" would have been sufficient" commented Artemis, as he walked into the large makeshift office.

Foaly ignored the comment as he reached his hand into the bowl of carrots by his side, eyes still transfixed on the large screens. "Revenge is such a sweet, sweet desert" he said, caressing the words lovingly.

"Revenge is indeed sweet but gold is what we are currently after." was the gentle rebuke from the young intellect, words carrying a over-tone of reproach. It had after all, been several months since the revenge on LEP had been completed. Artemis did not see the point in continuous gloating over what had been a rather pitiful challenge when it had all been boiled down.

Foaly caught the tone and grudgingly turned the monitor's off. "Well, I suppose you'll be pleased to know that I haven't been spending my entire time watching surveillance camera's and smirking over other people's bad luck." Artemis continued to look impassive, although Foaly was beginning to pick up the subtleties of 'Fowl Watching' and "I'm-smirking-at-you-because-you-can't-seriously-expect-me-to-believe-something-as-ridiculous-as-what-you've-just-told-me" was one of the more obvious looks in Artemis' collection. He hurried on, finger's delicately removing object's from their cases.

'I've managed to reconstruct most of the more basic items in the fairy world. Some however, especially item's only found in the LEP, require specialised materials."

Artemis nodded, it was to be expected although it was no less of an inconvenience despite that. "Give Butler a list of the items you require, he will pick them up for you"

"I have to warn you" cautioned Foaly "Several of the item's will be quite expensive." Artemis merely raised an eyebrow at Foaly's foolishness.

"Although normally, I would hate to sound clichéd in anything, this situation calls for it. Cost is not, and never has been, an issue. And I would think of it as an investment in any case. Fairy technology has already been beneficial to me, despite the "ancientness" of it as you so eloquently put it."

Foaly nodded, satisfied with the response as he pulled a note pad towards himself and began scribbling items down. And to think, the LEP had tried to bring him back with a budget increase. Why would he _want _a budget increase when he was currently in employment at a place which had no concept of limiting budgets at all?

His eye's fell onto one of the objects and he grinned. Dropping the pen for a few moments, he picked the object up and turned to Artemis who was examining blue prints for a potential new patent. "And look what I found for you." He held the small cube like object out, balanced tediously on his palm.

Artemis barely spared it a glance, before stiffening and looking up again. "But I thought the blue prints were destroyed months ago?" he commented, running slim fingers over what had been his arguably greatest invention.

Foaly simply grinned manically. "They did." he said proudly. "You're looking at the C Cube Version 2.0. Modified so completely that this technology would be advanced even below ground."

Artemis glanced upwards from his examination of the C Cube. "If you are expected me to be impressed, you are sorely mistaken"

Foaly shook his head. Some things would never change. "You'll be singing a different tune when I show you what this baby can do."

Artemis merely raised an eyebrow at his four legged accomplice. "You have said that before, and if my memory serves me correctly, more than once I have been forced to modify the shoddy plans you come up with."

Foaly waved a hand languidly. "Details, details."

Artemis made slight noise in his throat which could have been interpreted many different ways. "We will see if your claims are accurate at the meeting today. Till then I will, as always, doubt your word."

Foaly tried for a wounded expression. "What's the matter Artemis?" he whined plaintively. "Don't you trust me?"

Artemis just looked at him, his expression saying it all. Foaly harrumphed. "You didn't have to put it like that." he complained.


End file.
